"The governments have approved it, the politicians have approved it, but when you actually go to the PBS and the regulator and say what you're going to use it for, you need evidence to say it's going to work and unfortunately ... that evidence is very hard to find.

"Let's look at a drug called thalidomide, that's now become a very good chemotherapeutic agent ... but we all know the disasters that occurred when it was first released. And we just don't want another one of those.

"If I prescribe something as a doctor then I'm responsible for what I give you and with cannabis we know there is an enormous list of side effects which is what has kept it illegal all these years."

Confusion surrounding cannabis regulation

Medicinal cannabis and its implications for rural doctors will be a key focus of the RDAA's annual conference in Melbourne next month.

Dr McPhee said country GPs are at a disadvantage compared to practitioners in metropolitan areas because they do not have as easy access to specialists.